Fortythirtyeight

……”Give 16 riders a grand guarantee, with some prize money on top, twice a week, for 26 weeks...” of a lesser standard than the premiership and probably most Championship heat leaders who currently earn more than that in a week. That ‘two grand’ doesn't cover an engine service ( done after ever half dozen meetings ) never mind their routine maintenance bills, tyres, Clutch plates,cables, chains etc. So now we are talking NDL standard riders riding in individual meetings and we know they pull big crowds…..not. and just how does a club survive running one individual meeting , with thesame riders, every few weeks? I would think there would be quite a few takers..

I don’t have an answer as I think the sport is doomed in its current format as the leadership are clueless. A complete overhaul is needed if the sport is to survive. At the moment there will less than a dozen clubs next season and you think some of those can survive on those figures ?

MikeBV…BSB does "more than OK" using UK riders with a few aspiring overseas riders who for many, see BSB as a stepping stone to WSB and MotoGP... If this type of model was the only Speedway on offer, I would suggest crowds would attend.. As you suggest, throw in some support classes to ensure a conveyer belt of talent coming through as the top names organically moved on to Poland, and the sport would continue.. Just like BSB does when their riders move on to the higher level racing.. It must cost circa £30k to lay out for two home and away meetings in the top tier, so use all, or some, of that, to put out some decent prize money and see if 1500 or so at @£20 will attend, and 10 sponsors will pay £500 for "a VIP night out" on nights that the entertainment industry is most successful... you know that the large majority of BSB riders don’t get paid to ride don’t you ? In fact they actually subside the ‘teams’ they ride for! How many speedway tracks can now attract 1500 paying spectators ??? One? Possibly two ? keep dreaming….

Like the amateur meetings at Scunthorpe? , or even grasstrack meetings? which attract about as many as a W.I. Meeting in a village hall.

‘The club is run by a crook time to wake up’ 2ndbend123 Quite a statement !, can you back it up with facts? For a guy whos put his own time and substantial money into a ‘dream project’ I find that hard to believe, has always come across as a very genuine and enthusiastic person whos trying to keep the sport alive in Cumbria, perhaps he may have been a little naive in his book keeping, but many people have been that in speedway !

Possibly because other Friday nights wont play ball .

But declined to travel to Redcar on a blank Friday night as it didnt suit them. What goes around comes around….

Whilst it’s an opportunity for youngsters to ride the fact they can’t field four rider sides on a regular basis is a sad sign of the state of the sport . it’s dying from the bottom up !

One troubled sole for another.

Cos its not working!

Yes….its nil nil till the meeting actually starts.

Riss normally good for big points around Berwick, but he is a ‘gating tart’ at times , Mulford should be able to beat his opposite number on a big track , shouldn’t he ? Not sure what they’ll get from Lambert. Tight one but if Bears can’t win at Berwick I don’t see them winning any silverware this season despite all the predictions.

Because it’s not about giving British youngsters a chance, it’s about winning ! 😜

Sponsors aren't always speedway fans and when they are, they tend to vote for their favourite rider not necessarily the rider who was the ‘star of the night’.

Strange Bears fan that doesn't read his own clubs press releases…..its Ziscke.

Ideal candidate to put straight into a championship side then ! Kid will no doubt improve but kids shouldn't be thrust into a highly competitive league like that, should be allowed to learn at his own pace, in the NDL, then , when he’s ready….

Solid enough for a NDL reserve and from 7 rides but think he’ll struggle in the championship. Looked uncertain when behind other riders.

As predicted result. Poole are very strong at home, a weakened Bears side were never seriously in it with 3 riders managing only 4 points between them. Thompson did a solid job as did the heat leaders but they didnt have the back up. That could be a problem for them all season as Pijper doesn't look as though he wants to mix it , Mulford not great away , Edwards will be sorely missed. As for Poole, they all did there job , in every department, couple of surprise zero’s but no harm done. The reasons for Poole being in the championship have been discussed many, many times and Matt Ford knows what he's doing and thats it. Poole to win the league ( forget the silly play off scenario ) Bears to scrape into the top four and therefor the play offs.

In that case, a straight forward home win on the cards.

Go on then, how many ? Obviously cheap to bring someone half way around the world to take a place , guarantee him a living wage , accommodation etc and he goes into a NDL spot, its not like you haven't done it before.

I think you meant….Way out of his depth ? yet he won a race.

and the two team places that could have gone to British youngsters.

and a more worn Australian one.

Yet another example of a club ‘doing its bit for British Speedway ’ by bringing in yet another Australian.

Bears to keep it close early on but cant see Wright, with 2 GP’s at the weekend, taking any risks, so Pirates to take with a late surge. Lot depends on Edwards & Mulford. But would be nice to be wrong!